Sports

No one is bigger than the game, Charith

Published

1 month ago

2025/11/16

Charith Asalanka

No other cricketing nation has been battered by terrorism quite like Sri Lanka. The civil war erupted barely two years after we gained Test status and an armed insurrection simmered in the south. Killings were rampant, a President, Ministers, military commanders and activists were all consumed by the violence. Curfew was as routine as a morning roll call and schoolchildren travelling by bus or train were drilled to watch out for suspicious parcels.

We grew up in a country where doubt lurked around every corner. That is why it is galling that the ambassadors now representing our flag seem to have forgotten where they come from. They are behaving as though they hail from the Swiss Alps, not Richmond Hill. A reality check is long overdue.

Credit to Sri Lanka Cricket for putting their foot down and reminding the players in no uncertain terms that no one is bigger than the game. Led by captain Charith Asalanka, several senior cricketers, most of them his old Richmond College mates, wanted to pull the plug on the Pakistan tour and dash home after a bombing in Islamabad. The team was in Rawalpindi by the way. Someone should have reminded them that Martin Crowe carried on with a tour when Navy Commander Clancy Fernando was assassinated right outside the Taj Samudra, the New Zealand team hotel.

Someone should also remind Mr. Asalanka and company that both India and New Zealand continued their tour without a whimper when Black Tigers stormed the Bandaranaike International Airport and the adjoining Air Force base, destroying many aircraft and fighter jets in 2001.

Cricket, through all this, refused to be cowed. So much so that when the Barmy Army had cold feet ahead of England’s 2004 tour, The Guardian’s David Hopps famously wrote that the odds of an English fan missing the tube in London was higher than being attacked in Sri Lanka.

Yet the new rich in our current squad are behaving as if violence is something they’ve only seen on movies. Their childish theatrics deserved a stern word. When players threatened to abandon the tour, SLC promptly prepared replacements and only the fear of losing their places made the squad do a U-turn. They had no business holding the game to ransom. They were offered VVIP security, lockdown travel corridors, even empty-stadium matches if needed. What more could you possibly ask for?

Asalanka is the sharpest cricketing mind we have seen since Mahela Jayawardene and arguably the best finisher since Arjuna Ranatunga. But talent does not place you above the sport. In recent months, his behaviour has been unbecoming and this episode was the final straw. When he returns home, he owes stakeholders an explanation and an inquiry must demand one.

This is Pakistan’s hour of need. A nation that has steadfastly stood by Sri Lanka despite being ravaged by its own internal crises would have suffered another blow had we abandoned them.

When Wasim Akram rallied Pakistan players to join a combined Indo-Pak XI in Colombo ahead of the 1996 World Cup, after Australia and West Indies boycotted the tour following the Central Bank bombing, he showed what solidarity in cricket truly means. He was class. Charith has much to learn from Wasim.

But even before Wasim, there was Abdul Hafeez Kardar.

Kardar had played Test cricket for India before partition and was Pakistan’s first Test captain. He was a statesman in every sense, championed Sri Lanka’s push for Test status from the 1970s onward. He wasn’t all talk. He was a doer. He founded the Ali Bhutto Trophy between Pakistan and Sri Lanka Under-19s, a series that unveiled Javed Miandad and Ranjan Madugalle. He ensured Pakistan’s coaches and curators travelled here to uplift our cricketing infrastructure and did much more.

Former SLC chief Hemaka Amarasuriya once said that players entering the Max Cricket Academy must first learn the history of the game. You feel Asalanka and his Richmond clan could do with a few chapters on Kardar.

Because if there’s one eternal truth in cricket, it is this: no player, no matter how gifted, is ever bigger than the game. You can only recall Shakespeare’s legendary words on Brutus in Julius Caesar, ‘The fault, dear Charith, is not in our stars, but in ourselves.’

by Rex Clementine

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Sports

Sri Lanka Under 19s pull off two wickets win against Afghanistan

Published

21 hours ago

2025/12/16

Sahan Weerasooriya

Sri Lanka Under 19s scored back to back victories as Mahanama College batsman Chamika Heenatigala anchored the tail with an unbeaten half century to seal two wickets victory over Afghanistan U19s in their second group match of the Under 19 Asia Cup in Dubai on Monday.

‎Chasing 236 runs to win Sri Lanka U19s were eight wickets down for 217 runs in the 48th over but Heenatigala with Rasith Nimsara kept their cool to seal the victory with four balls to spare.

‎In their chase, Viran Chamuditha top scored with 62 runs and put on a first wicket stand of 55 runs with Dimantha Mahavithana (27).

‎While Kavija Gamage (34) and Dulnith Sigera (22) made vital contributions with the bat, Sethmika Senevirathne and Sigera took three wickets each.

‎It was Sri Lanka Youth team’s second consecutive win in the tournament after registering their first win against Nepal.

Sports

Dasun Shanaka’s all-round effort can not hold Vipers

Published

21 hours ago

2025/12/16

Sahan Weerasooriya

Sam Curran bagged two wickets before scoring an unbeaten fifty. (ILT20)

Dasun Shanaka scored an unbeaten 29 and took two wickets but that could not hold Desert Vipers becoming the first team to seal a playoffs spot as they made it six wins out of six on Sunday (December 14) halfway through the league stage of the ILT20 2025-26.

‎Sam Curran produced an all-round effort as Vipers chased down Dubai Capitals’ 166/4 with five wickets in hand and a ball to spare.

‎Asked to bat, Capitals lost Shayan Jahangir to Naseem Shah in the third over and were kept on a tight leash by the Vipers pacers in the powerplay, reaching 35/1. Gulbadin Naib and Leus du Plooy then added 39 at close to a run-a-ball before Noor Ahmad removed his Afghanistan teammate. Capitals were 68/2 at the halfway mark and in need of momentum through the second half of the innings.

‎Du Plooy injected some urgency with two fours off Lockie Ferguson in an over, followed by a six off Naseem Shah to bring up a 38-ball fifty. But Curran turned the innings again with a double-wicket over, dismissing du Plooy and Rovman Powell off successive deliveries. Jordan Cox and Dasun Shanaka, however, ensured a strong finish, striking six fours and three sixes in an unbroken 72-run stand off 40 balls.

‎Max Holden set the tone in the chase, accounting for six of the seven fours Vipers struck in the powerplay. Fakhar Zaman fell to Mustafizur Rahman in the fifth over but Vipers still reached 50 in six overs. Holden was dismissed for 34 by Haider Ali while attempting a slog sweep, and although Hasan Nawaz struck three sixes, he fell to Waqar Salamkheil to leave Vipers at 88/3 after 10 overs.

‎Dan Lawrence and Curran steadied the chase with a 32-run stand before Lawrence was dismissed by Shanaka for 20 in the 14th over. In the same over, Shimron Hetmyer struck a four and a six and was later reprieved by Shanaka. A couple of tight overs followed, but Vipers remained in control, needing 31 from the final four overs.

‎Curran took them closer with two fours off David Willey and a six off Muhammad Jawadullah. With three required in the final over, Hetmyer fell to Shanaka, but Curran finished the chase with a six off the fourth ball, completing a 33-ball fifty to cap a fine all-round performance.

‎‎Brief scores:

‎Dubai Capitals 166/4 in 20 overs (Leus du Plooy 54, Jordan Cox 49*; Sam Curran 2-17)

‎Desert Vipers

171/5 in 19.4 overs (Sam Curran 52*, Max Holden 34; Dasun Shanaka 2-19)

Sports

Akbar Brothers crowned MBSA A-Division champions

Published

1 day ago

2025/12/15

Priyan

Akbar Brothers Ltd delivered a commanding all-round performance to clinch the ‘A’ Division title at the 33rd MSBA League Basketball Tournament, defeating defending champions Fairfirst Insurance 70–60 in a thrilling final held recently.

Despite a group stage loss to Fairfirst, a revitalized Akbar Brothers team returned for the final with renewed focus, executing a strategic and disciplined game plan with some excellent passing and defense. Akbar Brothers came in with all guns blazing right from the outset. The first quarter was all Akbar’s that stacked up a 13 to 4 lead. Fairfirst mounted a strong challenge in the second quarter, narrowing the margin, but Akbar’s momentum secured a 35–28 lead at halftime, a margin they maintained with composure through to the final whistle.

Dasun Mendis led the charge for Akbar Brothers with 18 points and was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player (MVP). Chenura De Alwis added 17 points to the tally, while Shehan Udayanga posted a valiant 22 points for Fairfirst. Dimitri Grebe anchored Akbar Brothers with strong leadership, with Hiran Wijesooriya captaining Fairfirst.

Earlier in the tournament Akbar Brothers beat Sampath Bank (82-71), Seylan Bank (91-68) David Pieris (110-78) and Seylan Bank in the semi final (83-60)

The final, held at the Royal College Indoor Sports Complex, saw a vibrant turnout of supporters as Akbar Brothers proved their championship mettle with teamwork, resilience, and clinical execution.

Akbar Brothers – Dimitri Grebe (Captain), Dasun Mendis, Chenura De Alwis, Randil Henry, Taher Akbarally, Selvam Savarimuttu, Franklyn Morais, Sanketha Jayarathne, Jeewan Priyankera , Praneeth Udumalagala, Ajith Kuruppu (Coach), Adrian Gabriel (Asst. Coach)

Fairfirst Insurance – Hiran Wijesooriya (Captain), Shehan Udayanga , Lakshan Kulathunga, Roshan Randima, Arnold Brent, Isuru Perera, Denzil Nicholas, Nimesh Fernando, Keshawa Perera, Charaka Anuhas, Asanga Perera (Coach)